December 28, 2006

A friend at Rockport Books sent me a copy of Steven Heller and Mirko Ilic's new book, The Anatomy of Design. It's a sleek, colorful book with fold-outs that trace the evolution of design trends and influences.Heller and Ilic are two of the preeminent designers out there today, directing and designing art for such publications as The New York Times and Time magazine. This book is really neat because it shows how there's a pathology to design. Art builds on inspiration, from the most obscure to the most obvious objects in the world. It also deviates from existing design, as The Anatomy of Design shows.Todd and I have been discussing the lack of design resources for the average businessperson. How do we identify good design? How do we know if our graphics are accomplishing what we want them to accomplish? I have some background in document design, but still it's often difficult to accomplish even the simplest projects without some advice from a professional graphic designer.We're wondering, what are the design issues you face? How have you met design needs within your organization? What design resources would be useful to you?